Woman Says Ferguson Jail Officer Raped Her

ST. LOUIS (CN) – A Ferguson, Mo., corrections officer raped a visibly pregnant woman while she was in custody last year, the woman claims in a federal complaint. J.W. filed her suit against the city of Ferguson and corrections Officer Jaris Hayden on Friday. Hayden is black, according to STLmugshots.com. In the lawsuit, J.W. claims she was driving her car in Ferguson on Oct. 9, 2013, when a police officer pulled her over for an expired license plate. J.W. acknowledges she gave the officer a false name and was arrested after the officer determined her true identity. J.W. claims she was taken to the Ferguson jail, where Hayden began booking her. During the booking process, J.W. claims, Hayden told her things such as “You smell good” and “This will teach you a lesson.” After originally telling her that her bond would be $300, J.W. claims, Hayden told her it would be $200. She claims Hayden also told her that she had traffic warrants in other jurisdictions. J.W. was several months pregnant. She says her pregnancy was showing and that she told Hayden she was having pains and discharges. After being checked out by an EMT, J.W. says, the EMT told Hayden it was up to him whether to release her. J.W.’s boyfriend posted bond, she says, and Hayden took her from her cell to sign some papers. “Hayden began to make remarks with words to the effect of: ‘You’re the type of girl that can get me in trouble,'” the complaint states. It continues: “J.W. was crying. “J.W. kept asking to go home. “J.W. said: ‘I will do anything to go home’. “By that remark J.W. did not intend to deliver the message that she would have sex with Hayden in exchange for release. The remark was in the nature of a rhetorical statement while in an emotional state of extreme distress. “Hayden stated several times to J.W. that she had traffic warrants for other municipalities. “J.W. was in great fear. “Hayden was in a position of complete power over J.W.” J.W. claims Hayden took to the jail’s boiler room, where he unbuttoned his pants, took out his penis and made her give him oral sex. “Hayden did not ejaculate,” the complaint states. “Hayden then had J.W. stop. “Hayden then took J.W. further back into the boiler room. “Hayden then had J.W. bend over and he indicated that he was going to have intercourse with her. “Because she was afraid, J.W. did not resist. “Hayden then had vaginal intercourse with J.W. “Hayden ejaculated in his hand. “Hayden then released J.W. from jail custody via a side door to the building. “Hayden stated to J.W. words to the effect of: ‘Tell anyone who asks that Wellston picked you up’.” Wellston is a nearby town. J.W. claims Hayden told her to run and stay close to the building and that he did not report the arrest to any other jurisdictions. She believes Hayden had her stay close to the building to avoid security cameras. J.W. says in the lawsuit that she was able to gather some of Hayden’s pubic hairs in her hand during the oral sex and went to the emergency room where she reported the incident to law enforcement. She claims that DNA analysis confirmed the pubic hairs are Hayden’s. Hayden was indicted on charges of Acceding to Corruption by a Public Servant, Sexual Contact with a Prisoner or offender by a Jail Employee, and Permitting Escape, according to the lawsuit. “The indictment occurred eight or nine days ago, but didn’t become public until around 2 o’clock on Friday,” J.W.’s attorney W. Bevis Schock told Courthouse News. Schock would not comment on why J.W. gave the officer a false name when she was stopped. The Ferguson Police Department issued a statement to KTVI-TV. “Jaris Hayden was previously a corrections officer for the City of Ferguson,” the statement said. “Immediately upon learning of the complaint against Mr. Hayden, the city undertook an investigation which resulted in Mr. Hayden’s termination from employment.” Ferguson has made international headlines since white Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson fatally shot Michael Brown, an unarmed black man, on Aug. 9. The shooting sparked more than 100 days of protests against police for alleged excessive force and racial profiling. A grand jury is deliberating whether to indict Wilson. St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Bob McCulloch oversaw the grand jury in both cases. Protesters have called for McCulloch’s removal from the Wilson investigation. The protesters claim McCulloch is biased because his father, a police officer, was killed by a black man in the line of duty. J.W. seeks punitive damages for civil rights violations, negligence and supervisorial liability.